[Handsome, or not?]
Did the medicine take effect this quickly? How did he get better all of a sudden?
Su Zhenzhen carefully withdrew her hand. Halfway back, the man grasped her wrist and pinned it against the table.
The man's hand was beautiful. With his finger bones pressing against her pulse, Su Zhenzhen had the illusion that he had her by the throat.
The lighting in the room was dim, making it impossible for her to see his expression clearly. She tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.
"You haven't answered my question."
Su Zhenzhen raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Lu Hexu's face.
[Handsome.]
[You are the most handsome.]
But Su Zhenzhen didn't answer. She merely mumbled, "This has nothing to do with the medicine."
The room fell silent.
Su Zhenzhen tried to pull her hand away again and finally managed to free it.
Su Zhenzhen thought to herself that she couldn't let herself sink any deeper.
"Once you recover from your illness, we'll be... even. Okay?"
After Su Zhenzhen said this, she clearly noticed the atmosphere in the room turning strange.
That stagnant, heavy feeling, as if freezing the very air, was incredibly oppressive, almost suffocating her.
And all of this was because of the man in front of her.
"Even," the man slowly spat out the word.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.
It wasn't until the harsh scraping of a chair sounded that Su Zhenzhen instinctively looked up, only to see the man's retreating back as he turned and left.
It was late at night, yet the summer heat still hadn't subsided.
Lu Hexu returned to his room expressionless.
Compared to his youth, he no longer wore his emotions on his face, even if he was currently mad with rage.
The glass lamps in the room cast a warm light. The ice blocks radiated a lingering coolness, emitting layer upon layer of thin white mist as they met the hot air.
Lu Hexu stood there. That thin mist drifted over him, seeping into his skin. It should have been comfortable, but now it felt like needles piercing into his veins.
His gaze fell on the box by his pillow.
Lu Hexu walked over, raised his hand to pick up the box, supported it with one hand, and opened it.
Inside, it was densely packed with silver needles, gleaming with a cold light under the illumination of the glass lamp.
Lu Hexu reached out, not caring if his fingertips were pricked while sifting through the silver needles.
He extended two fingers, probing deep into the needles.
The silver needles were pushed aside, occasionally piercing his skin, yet the man acted as if he felt nothing, until he grasped something at the bottom of the box.
Lu Hexu pulled the object out.
It was a gold hairpin with cat ears.
Blood oozed from the man's fingertips where the silver needles had pricked him. Clenching the gold cat-ear hairpin in his hand, he placed the box back by his pillow.
The next day, when Wei Heng came in to deliver memorials, he saw his master clutching something in his hand, sitting expressionlessly behind the imperial desk.
His eyes were slightly red, as if he hadn't slept all night.
"Your Majesty, these are the memorials delivered by express horse from Jinling City today..."
"Wei Heng, she said she wants us to be even." Lu Hexu didn't look at Wei Heng, but kept staring at the silver cat-ear hairpin in his hand.
The pad of his finger gently stroked the pair of cat ears on it. "How could I possibly let her be even with me?"
Wei Heng stood there, his gaze falling on the man's face.
Today's Lu Hexu had shed the emotional openness of his youth, becoming increasingly composed and even more ruthless. Wei Heng could no longer guess what he was thinking at all.
Like a beautiful wooden puppet, hiding his true self inside.
That restrained brutality was far more terrifying than in his youth.
If the youthful Lu Hexu had slaughtered uncontrollably because of his illness and pain, then the current Emperor was slaughtering with a clear mind.
His ruthless, thunderous methods made everyone in the court and the country fear him.
In troubled times, the merciful cannot command armies, and the benevolent cannot rule the court. If Lu Hexu hadn't dealt with the mess left by the late Emperor so cleanly and decisively, the fruits of their labor would have been stolen by others sooner or later, plunging the world into chaos.
Wei Heng always believed that Lu Hexu was a born emperor.
Emperors were mostly ruthless. He had followed Lu Hexu for five years, watching him turn into what he was now, little by little.
Just a casual glance carried the oppressive weight of a supreme ruler.
In the past, the court and the public feared his madness.
Now, everyone acknowledged his talent for ruling, but they feared his majesty even more.
If one could still see a bit of childish innocence in the young Lu Hexu, then the current Lu Hexu was left with nothing but deep, dark shadows.
You couldn't even catch a glimpse of any other color on him.
Only one person could leave a trace of color on him.
Wei Heng's gaze fell on that silver cat-ear hairpin.
Over the five years, Wei Heng had stayed by Lu Hexu's side, watching his obsession with Su Zhenzhen grow deeper and deeper, until it seeped into his very marrow.
Wei Heng always remembered that day. According to past habits, His Majesty was supposed to go to the Qingliang Palace to escape the summer heat.
Wei Heng had already packed everything for Lu Hexu, bringing only ordinary items that could be placed in the small courtyard for daily use.
Over the past four years, after arriving at the Qingliang Palace, Lu Hexu didn't stay in the main Qingliang Hall. He would stay in the small courtyard where he had previously lived with Su Zhenzhen.
Nothing in the small courtyard had been moved; everything was kept exactly as it was when that person left.
Before Wei Heng could enter the bedchamber holding the memorials, he was stopped by someone.
"Lord Wei, there is news of that person."
When Wei Heng heard this, he froze for a moment before realizing who the Jin Yi Wei guard was talking about.
There was news of Su Zhenzhen.
Wei Heng took the secret letter from the Jin Yi Wei guard, his hands trembling.
The sunlight was poor today, and the weather was gloomy, but for His Majesty, it was a rare, beautiful day.
Wei Heng stood at the door of the bedchamber, hesitating for a long time before pushing the door open and entering.
Many ice blocks had already been placed inside the bedchamber. The man maintained his childhood habit of lying on the gold-brick floor; only in this way could his body feel a bit more comfortable.
The dragon robe on his body was dampened by water, clinging to him and revealing the contours of his muscles.
The man had his eyes closed, his wide sleeves covering his brows and eyes, revealing only his high, straight nose bridge and thin lips, making it impossible to tell his mood.
Wei Heng knelt on the ground, raising his hands high. "Your Majesty, there is news."
The figure of Lu Hexu, who was lying there, shifted.
The wide sleeves slipped from his face, revealing that handsome countenance.
There was no sleepiness in the man's eyes. He sat up slowly, his expression utterly calm.
With one hand resting on his knee, he used the other to rub the fingertip that had been pricked by the silver needle earlier today.
"Bring it here."
The man spoke slowly, his voice hoarse.
Wei Heng moved forward on his knees, offering the secret letter in his hand to Lu Hexu.
Lu Hexu raised his hand, took it, and tore it open.
The bedchamber was incredibly quiet, right up until the man finished reading the secret letter.
"She has been found," he slowly uttered these words.
Wei Heng didn't hear any hysterical madness or brutality in this sentence; there were only these cold, indifferent words.
It was so indifferent that Wei Heng almost thought His Majesty was going to let Su Zhenzhen go.
"We cannot let her run away again."
"We must plan this out, Wei Heng."
Wei Heng realized that compared to his outwardly emotional brutality, Lu Hexu's current tone and attitude were far more terrifying.
Kneeling on the floor, he replied in a low voice, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Then, Wei Heng watched Lu Hexu calmly cast his net and wait, quietly waiting.
Until now.
Su Zhenzhen was still alive.
The ice blocks in the room had melted halfway.
The scorching summer heat seeped in through the doors and windows, and the incessant cicada chirping made it impossible to find any peace.
Lu Hexu gripped the gold hairpin; the cat ears on it had been rubbed smooth and shiny.
"Wei Heng, she doesn't want me again."
Wei Heng stood there, quietly listening to His Majesty speak.
"I really should just kill her, don't you think?"
Wei Heng knelt on the ground. The coolness from the ice blocks filled the room, which was extremely comfortable in the summer.
But Wei Heng only felt cold.
A few herbs needed for Lu Hexu's treatment were missing and hard to find in the city's apothecaries. Early in the morning, Su Zhenzhen carried her bamboo basket on her back and went up the mountain.
Before leaving, she instructed Little Persimmon to look after the apothecary.
Lu Mingqian nodded.
He could speak now and knew a little bit about medicine, enough to treat simple ailments.
Su Zhenzhen went out.
It was still early, and she hadn't had breakfast yet.
Su Zhenzhen picked a breakfast stall and sat down.
She came to this stall often, and the owner already recognized her.
It was a small shop with three to five tables. Su Zhenzhen sat at the table closest to the street and ordered a bowl of pork rib noodles.
The broth was boiled to a milky white, the ribs stewed until they were tender and falling off the bone. The noodles soaked in the hot soup, sprinkled with a handful of fresh green scallions. As the steam billowed up, it was hot enough to numb the tip of the tongue.
Not long after Su Zhenzhen's noodles were served, someone else came in.
It was a group of three to five men. They were tall and sturdy, with calluses on the webs of their hands. As soon as they entered the breakfast stall, they filled the small space, making the whole shop suddenly seem cramped.
"Boss, five bowls of noodles."
The owner responded and started cooking the noodles.
The broth was already ready; he only needed to boil the noodles.
The thin noodles were tossed into the pot, and the owner poked his head out to ask, "Do you want them a bit firm, or soft?"
The men remained silent; no one answered.
The owner asked again.
"Whatever."
"Alright, I'll make them a bit soft then."
The noodles were quickly cooked and served.
"How do we get to the Su Family Apothecary?" These men were very quiet. One of them raised his eyes to look at the owner.
The owner smiled and said, "It's just up ahead."
The man nodded, and the five of them began to eat their noodles.
Su Zhenzhen glanced briefly at the five men. They were robust and strong, and didn't look like they were sick at all.
She had things to do today. If they couldn't find Doctor Su at the Su family shop, there were still Doctor Liu and Doctor Wang further down.
Su Zhenzhen finished her noodles, hoisted her bamboo basket onto her back, and walked out of the breakfast stall.
Lu Mingqian sat in the apothecary sorting herbs, checking for any damage, mold, or spoilage, and seeing if anything was missing and needed to be restocked.
The reed curtain at the entrance of the apothecary was lifted. Lu Mingqian turned his head and saw a man walk in. Upon seeing him, the man's expression paused for a moment before he asked, "Is there an inn nearby?"
Lu Mingqian raised his hand and pointed to the inn not far away.
"What about a restaurant?"
"Turn left up ahead, there's a whole street of them."
The middle-aged man nodded, turned, and left.
Lu Mingqian frowned but didn't overthink it, continuing to sort the herbs.
Night fell, and Su Zhenzhen had not yet returned.
Lu Mingqian understood Su Zhenzhen very well by now.
Once she entered the mountains, she was like a mouse falling into a rice bin. If it weren't for the wild beasts in the forest, she might have stayed in there forever without coming back.
Lu Mingqian closed up the shop himself, then went into the courtyard and gathered up all the herbs.
Lu Hexu was nowhere to be seen in the house; it was unknown whether he would come tonight.
Lu Mingqian returned to the room, spread out some paper, and began copying Buddhist scriptures.
This was a daily requirement for Lu Mingqian. It had become a habit; if he missed a day, he always felt like something was lacking.
The night grew dark, and Lu Mingqian had already finished copying a scroll of Buddhist scriptures.
He thought for a moment and decided to go out and look for Lu Hexu.
Lu Mingqian picked up a lantern. Just as he was about to open the door, he discovered that his room had been locked from the outside at some unknown point.
What was going on?
Lu Mingqian pushed with his hands, but it wouldn't open. He then rammed it with his body, but it still didn't budge.
He reached out to push the window and found that it was also blocked from the outside by something.
Lu Mingqian was horrified.
He thought of his illegitimate older brother, and a subconscious urge to vomit washed over him, which he forcibly suppressed.
Had they found him?
Had they really found him?
The fifteen-year-old boy stood there, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Suddenly, Lu Mingqian smelled something burning.
It slipped in through the cracks of the doors and windows. At first, it was faint, but as the smoke grew thicker, the smell suddenly became overwhelming.
Someone was setting a fire, trying to burn him to death.
Lu Mingqian forced his trembling body to stand up, grabbed a nearby stool, and smashed it against the doors and windows.
The doors and windows were not very sturdy. Thick smoke from outside billowed in, stinging his eyes red and making it impossible for him to distinguish directions.
"Is anyone there... cough, cough, cough..."
Lu Mingqian used the last bit of tea to wet his handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose.
He covered his face with one hand and used the other to smash the wooden stool against the doors and windows with all his might.
The doors and windows were broken open, and more thick smoke and raging flames surged in.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Lu Mingqian hunched his body and charged out headfirst.
In the narrow courtyard stood five people.
One of them was clearly the man who had come during the day to ask for directions.
The fire had not yet fully engulfed the place. They stood quietly in the courtyard with long swords in hand, looking every bit like well-trained assassins.
"Did my illegitimate brother send you?" Lu Mingqian subconsciously stepped back.
"Pardon our offense, Little Heir."
Tonight, Lu Hexu did not go stand on the pavilion.
On the imperial desk in front of him, only a few silver needles lay spread out.
He had been counting them from day to night.
Kill her.
Do not kill her.
Every time Lu Hexu silently recited a phrase in his heart, he picked up a silver needle and placed it into the box.
The box was already full of silver needles, and bloodstains could occasionally be seen on the sharp tips.
Lu Hexu licked his fingertips, tasting a faint metallic tang of blood.
It hurts, Zhenzhen.
But she didn't want him anymore.
She didn't want him no matter what.
Only three needles remained on the imperial desk.
Kill her.
Do not kill her.
Lu Hexu held the last silver needle, pinching it between his fingertips.
Kill her.
Wei Heng pushed the door open and entered, a look of anxiety on his face. "Your Majesty, the courtyard next door is on fire."
Lu Hexu stood up quickly. "Have the Brocade Guards gone?"
"This servant has already sent people. It's just a bit strange. The doors and windows are all locked, and there are traces of hay and alcohol at the courtyard gate, as if someone deliberately set the fire. We don't know what the situation is inside the courtyard right now..."
Before Wei Heng could finish speaking, the man had already disappeared.
Lu Hexu left through the side door, entered the back alley, and upon seeing the courtyard billowing with thick smoke, kicked the door open.
The people in the courtyard were startled by the commotion and looked in his direction.
The Brocade Guards were fetching water to put out the fire; the front courtyard gate was locked tight and hadn't been opened yet.
Lu Hexu's dark and ruthless gaze swept over these people. He glanced at Lu Mingqian, who was lying on the ground, his life or death unknown, and stepped through the crowd, heading straight into Su Zhenzhen's room.
The man's aura was so overpowering that for a moment, no one could react. It wasn't until he emerged from the room that the assassins' expressions changed.
"Where is she?" Lu Hexu stared at these people with gloomy eyes.
"Attack."
The assassin raised his hand, and the people behind him swarmed forward.
The next moment, a thin wire appeared out of thin air.
The one charging at the very front was instantly decapitated.
The assassin froze in place, looking around, when suddenly the sound of something tearing through the air came from behind.
A long sword flew over, and a figure in black with strange black paint smeared on his face engaged them in close combat.
Lu Hexu paid no attention to the flashing blades and flying swords.
He walked straight up to Lu Mingqian and grabbed him by the collar. "Where is Su Zhenzhen?"
Lu Mingqian's body was pierced with several bloody holes; it was obvious he was breathing out more than he was breathing in.
Being yanked by Lu Hexu brought a tearing pain to his body.
"She went up the mountain to gather herbs and hasn't returned yet... cough cough cough..."
Lu Hexu released Lu Mingqian.
Lu Mingqian fell heavily back to the ground, spat out bloody froth, and completely lost consciousness.
"Wei Heng, Wei Heng!"
Wei Heng rushed in hastily. Seeing the situation in the courtyard, he looked up and met the man's bloodshot eyes.
"Prepare a horse!"
Wei Heng hurriedly brought out a fine steed capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, usually reserved for delivering secret letters.
Lu Hexu vaulted onto the horse, and the beast charged recklessly, rushing straight out of Yangzhou City.
Outside Yangzhou City, there was a mountain rich in medicinal herbs. It was Su Zhenzhen's favorite place to go, but the mountain paths were rugged, making it difficult even for horses to travel.
The horse let out a long neigh, and Lu Hexu tumbled off its back, crashing to the ground.
Gripping the reins, he used sheer brute force to hold back the horse that tried to flee, then pulled it back by its tail and vaulted back into the saddle.
Lu Hexu's horse was simply too fast; it was only now that the Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him finally caught up.
The horse's neighing caught the attention of the assassins hiding in the dark.
These were the men stationed here waiting to provide backup.
Sitting on his horse, Lu Hexu watched the black-clad assassins slowly surrounding him, his gaze sweeping over them.
Their long swords were sharp but bore no traces of blood.
Lu Hexu could guess that these people were here to kill Lu Mingqian.
Since they were here to kill, they naturally wouldn't leave any witnesses alive.
If Su Zhenzhen hadn't gone out to gather herbs today, she would inevitably have been killed.
At this thought, Lu Hexu subconsciously gripped the reins tighter.
"Leave no one alive," he ordered with a cold and grim expression, then, thinking of something, added, "Bury the bodies after killing them."
She was timid. In the deep, dew-heavy night, seeing a mountain full of corpses would surely terrify her.
With that said, Lu Hexu rode straight off, continuing up the mountain.
The assassins and the Embroidered Uniform Guards clashed together.
The two sides were evenly matched for a time, until Shadow One arrived and finished off all the assassins.
Remembering Lu Hexu's instructions before leaving, the guards began digging pits to bury the bodies.
"Hey, what is this?"
One of the guards picked something up from the ground.
It was a beautiful golden hairpin, stained with a bit of blood.
"It looks like cat ears."
"Quite unique. Why not take it back to give to your wife?"
"His Majesty has given us enough, and I wouldn't dare take a dead person's belongings."
The guard casually tossed the golden hairpin back onto the ground.
-
Su Zhenzhen had been gathering herbs all day. Looking up at the sky, she saw it was completely dark.
It was time to go back.
She stood up and stretched her limbs.
So tired.
She hadn't felt it while gathering, but now that she was done, her body felt as if it were about to fall apart.
Carrying her bamboo basket on her back, Su Zhenzhen headed down.
This mountain was very large, and it wasn't just this one; this entire continuous range was connected.
In the dim light, Su Zhenzhen took out the gauze lantern she had prepared earlier, popped it open, and lit it.
This collapsible gauze lantern had been specially made for her. Its bamboo ribs were as thin as hair, and when folded, it was no bigger than the palm of her hand, making it easy to carry. With a gentle shake, it would unfurl into shape.
The small gauze lantern cast a hazy, warm glow in the mountain night.
Fireflies gathered around it.
Su Zhenzhen reached out to catch them but missed.
It was the season of blooming summer flowers. When the fireflies left, swallowtail butterflies fluttered about.
They swarmed and hovered, eventually landing on a particular spot ahead.
Su Zhenzhen lifted her lantern to take a look. There were no fresh flowers there; instead, the soil showed signs of having been turned over.
Swallowtail butterflies were known to feed on decaying fluids and blood, which often led to this bizarre yet magical sight:
Discovering beautiful butterflies beside rotting corpses.
As the summer mountain breeze blew past, Su Zhenzhen caught the scent of extremely fresh blood.
As a healer, Su Zhenzhen was highly sensitive to the smell of blood.
Carrying the lantern, she stepped forward with a vigilant expression.
This was a flat slope.
The soil on the ground had been turned over, as if something had been buried there.
Su Zhenzhen crouched down and picked up a pinch of dirt.
It was blood.
Blood mixed in the mud was what had attracted the butterflies.
Su Zhenzhen originally didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but something flashed before her eyes.
She raised the lantern higher.
The light shone down, making the golden hairpin not far ahead look particularly conspicuous in the glow.
It wasn't far, perhaps only two meters away.
Therefore, Su Zhenzhen could clearly see the appearance of the golden hairpin.
She thought she might have seen it wrong.
But Su Zhenzhen walked over anyway and bent down to pick it up.
There were many coincidences in this world.
But could there really be a second golden hairpin with cat ears, exactly like the one she had designed herself, in this world?
Su Zhenzhen didn't dare to gamble on that.
She set down the lantern, looked around, and began to dig into the pit.
The pit wasn't deep, and the mud was fresh and loose.
She had a small sickle in her bamboo basket.
Su Zhenzhen used the small sickle to dig, but halfway through, the sickle broke.
So she dug with her bare hands.
She touched the person's body.
The more she dug, the more terrified Su Zhenzhen became. Pushing hard, she heard the sound of her own fingernail snapping.
The fingers are connected to the heart, and a piercing pain spread from her fingertip.
Yet Su Zhenzhen did not stop her movements.
She kept digging until the neighing of a horse sounded from not far ahead.
Her face covered in hot sweat, she looked up.
A man on horseback appeared on the slope above.
Lu Hexu had realized his golden hairpin was missing.
He had ridden back to find it.
Below the slope.
A gauze lantern.
A swarm of butterflies.
The scent of blood was carried up intermittently by the wind.
Butterflies danced gracefully around the area.
It was exquisitely beautiful.
But ironically, many corpses were buried underneath.
Now, a woman was kneeling there, digging in the mud with her bare hands.
A butterfly landed on her face, then fluttered away.
The moment he saw Su Zhenzhen's face, Lu Hexu immediately dismounted and walked down the slope to stand before her.
He looked down at her hands, grabbed them, and pulled them out of the dirt. "What are you doing?"
Su Zhenzhen's long-held tears suddenly fell the moment she saw Lu Hexu. "I thought this person was you..."
"The golden hairpin..." She took out the cat-ear golden hairpin from her waist. "Is this yours?"
Su Zhenzhen stared at Lu Hexu's lips, suddenly feeling very afraid.
She always said she was going to leave him.
But in reality, she couldn't bear to hear a single heartless word come out of his mouth.
"Do you... still want it?"
Lu Hexu looked at her quietly, then slowly raised his hand, took the golden hairpin from Su Zhenzhen's hand, and slid it into his hair bun.
"I accidentally dropped it while killing people."
Looking at the golden hairpin, Su Zhenzhen felt both bitter and sweet in her heart.
She had thought he didn't want this golden hairpin anymore.
"I thought you were dead..." The woman cried until her eyes were red, barely able to see the man in front of her. Lu Hexu reached out and cupped her face. "Do you not want me to die?"
[Don't die.]
Su Zhenzhen sobbed, wanting to speak, but the words choked in her throat.
"Do you not want Mu Dan to die, or do you not want Lu Hexu to die?"
Su Zhenzhen shook her head vigorously, finally swallowing back the choking lump in her throat.
She looked at the man in front of her. "Don't die, Lu Hexu."
Lu Hexu could see through people's hearts, but he couldn't see through Su Zhenzhen's.
He didn't understand why she would cry so heartbreakingly just from the fear of his death.
If she truly cared for him, why would she betray him?
Such a troublesome person—if it were the past, Lu Hexu would have killed her without hesitation.
But not Su Zhenzhen.
He was afraid of her dying.
He couldn't bear for her to die.
Lu Hexu's hand brushed across her soft cheek. He scooped her up into his arms and they mounted his horse together.
The woman's eyes were so swollen from crying that she could barely open them.
Riding back on Lu Hexu's horse and seeing her apothecary burned to ashes, Su Zhenzhen cried even harder.
The onlookers had already dispersed. Lu Hexu reached out to wipe her face. "Alright, let's go back first."
[Easy for you to say, it's not your shop that burned down.]
Lu Hexu: ...
The man guided the horse toward his own residence. Su Zhenzhen sat on the horse, leaning back against Lu Hexu, her voice still carrying a faint sob.
"What about Little Persimmon? Is he alright?"
"Wei Heng will handle it."
Su Zhenzhen nodded, feeling a bit of pity for her medicinal herbs that hadn't been safely rescued.
"What about Sushan?"
"It will be fine."
Su Zhenzhen was brought back to Lu Hexu's room.
Wei Heng brought clean water and medicine.
"Your Majesty, the little heir has been settled. A physician was called over to treat him, and his life is not in danger for now."
"What about Sushan?" Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but interrupt.
"Is Miss Su talking about that white cat? It is very smart. As soon as a stranger entered the house, it slipped into our residence."
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Her hands were covered in mud. The man sat beside her, carefully cleaning them for her.
Because she had dug into the soil too forcefully, one of Su Zhenzhen's fingernails had flipped back. It hurt terribly, and the only option was to completely remove it so it could grow back anew.
Su Zhenzhen glanced at Lu Hexu.
[He wouldn't take this opportunity to intentionally make her hurt, would he?]
Lu Hexu: ...
Lu Hexu held the woman's fingertips, not daring to apply force. He took the handkerchief Wei Heng handed him and stuffed it into Su Zhenzhen's mouth.
"Bite down."
During the cleaning, Su Zhenzhen was in excruciating pain.
[It hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts...]
But she held it in and didn't cry out.
Yet for some unknown reason, whenever she cried out in her heart, the man's movements would pause, and then he would try to be even gentler.
"All done."
Half an hour later, Su Zhenzhen's hands were finally cleaned.
Although only one fingernail had been pulled out, the pain was connected, and her other fingers were also injured.
Su Zhenzhen broke out in a cold sweat. Stripped of her strength, she leaned limply against Lu Hexu's shoulder.
Looking at the finally cleaned fingernail, Lu Hexu also subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and continued to apply medicine for her.
Looking at the medicine, Su Zhenzhen's eyes turned red as she remembered something. Her voice was muffled as she said, "I haven't brewed your medicine for you today."
Lu Hexu's movements of applying the medicine paused slightly, then he continued.
He lowered his eyes, his expression unchanging. "Let Wei Heng do it."
Su Zhenzhen then turned her head and said to Wei Heng, "Godfather, boil three bowls of water down to one, and you cannot leave it unattended."
Wei Heng nodded and turned to leave.
Su Zhenzhen looked down and saw her hands, which Lu Hexu had wrapped up like rice dumplings.
"You wrapped them like this, I can't even hold chopsticks anymore."
[You will have to feed me.]
Lu Hexu's gaze fell on Su Zhenzhen's face.
Su Zhenzhen clearly felt that there was something off about the man today.
It was as if he had suddenly, awkwardly figured some things out.
"Mm."
Mm?
Happy Spring Festival
